Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Tribune in the days before his resignation, Forde said, “Sycophantism in any organisation is dangerous – in a political party it is cancerous. “There are obviously problems with succession in Sinn Féin, particularly as they need a public face in the south. Assumptions have led to the problem that Mary Lou [McDonald] finds herself in a constituency where it is very difficult to see how she can possibly win a seat.

McDonald lost her seat as an MEP for Dublin last June and she failed to win a Dáil seat in Dublin Central in 2007. Although she is well-respected within Sinn Féin, Forde’s lack of confidence in McDonald’s ability to win a seat is not uncommon within the party and he also questioned the political direction of the party in the south. “Sinn Féin drifted into the centre following a decent 2004 election,” he said. “Flirting with Fianna Fáil and assuming they would be junior coalition partners was a massive error, one that was driven by the arrogance of having a dozen successive election successes and not welcoming alternative view-points.”